3rd Sunday of Advent
On this the 3rd Sunday of advent we light the rose coloured candle on the advent wreath and the vestments at mass may be Rose as well. This Sunday is also known as Gaudete Sunday as we rejoice that the Lord is near. Last week we heard about John’s ministry of preaching repentance and baptism for the forgiveness of sins. The idea of repentance is about turning around and facing in a new direction. John’s call to the people was to turn away from the old ways of life and to turn towards God. The Gospel opens with the people, the tax collectors and some soldiers, having heard the call to change their lives, all asking John, ‘What must we do?” We should also be asking ourselves what must we do?
Both John the Baptist and Paul share one belief: that the Lord is very near. God’s nearness didn’t act as a threat to them, but gave them a infectious source of joy that no one could take away from them. Their joy in the closeness of God gave an edge to their preaching and teaching. It gave them a vision to see the far side of disaster; it moved them to draw others into that sense of joy. None of them was closed in his own joy they moved out going round in the hope their inner joy would be caught by the people of their time and place and many people were caught by the joy they had to pass on to them. The picture of John the Baptist as a man of joy is not one you hear about very often. John is usually portrayed as a lonesome figure, with a weird wardrobe and weirder diet, who rants and raves at anyone with ears to hear. But John was a character who intrigued people and as a result they would seek him out and follow him. People don’t journey into the wilderness just to get insulted; you don’t become disciples for the wardrobe and diet.Here was a man who cared nothing at all for comfort, money or fame, who could not be bought, and who would speak the truth without fear. In John people could see something of God.
John spoke in words they could grasp when he told them exactly what they should be doing. He made such a deep impression on the crowd that word goes around that he might be the Christ. That expectant feeling is a measure of John’s effect on people around him. John did not claim to know who the Messiah was going to be instead he tells the people that he is not that person. That role is for someone else, someone greater and more powerful than he was. And as we know that person was Jesus the Son of the Father. We are called to be joyful witnesses to Jesus but as we know with all that is going on around us these days that is not easy. There are many things that continue to block the presence of the Lord within us. It’s time for us to answer the question what must we do and that is to prepare the way so that we will be able to welcome Jesus into our lives our hearts and our homes at Christmas. Let us Rejoice in the lord always because the Lord is near.
Fullerton T 